Written Answers

Wednesday 1 November 2000

Scottish Executive

Bridges

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects construction of the new bridge at Kincardine-on-Forth to begin.

Sarah Boyack: The timetable for the construction of a new crossing at Kincardine depends on how the detailed proposals are received locally. The earliest date when construction of the new crossing could be started is towards the end of 2003.

Bridges

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects studies to be completed with regard to the building of a new bridge at Kincardine-on-Forth.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive expects to receive the study report on the proposed new crossing at Kincardine next spring.

Community Care

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7804 by Iain Gray on 26 September 2000, what the timetable is for (a) the submission of plans by local authorities outlining how they will use the additional monies and (b) the disbursement of the £10 million to help tackle delayed discharges and whether this £10 million allocation will be ring-fenced.

Susan Deacon: Each local authority was requested to submit its proposals for the additional monies by 15 September 2000. The letters indicated that, where local authorities could resolve problems of delayed discharge without using all the resources allocated, they could propose to deploy the balance to improve the level and extent of other services.

  All authorities provided proposals which, after some adjustment, were considered satisfactory. Letters confirming this were sent to authorities on 5 October. They indicated that, in mid-January 2001, we will require confirmation that the respective proposals (or revised proposals) are being successfully acted upon. Following that, the monies will be disbursed later this financial year as part of the local authority’s Revenue Support Grant.

Fisheries

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, following sight of the most recent scientific studies in the Inner Sound and Lochs Torridon, Carron, Kishorn, Duich, Alsh and Hourn, what measures it proposes to take with regard to creel and trawl fishing in these areas.

Rhona Brankin: As part of the most recent review of inshore fishing prohibitions under the Inshore Fishing (Scotland) Act 1984, the Scottish Executive received a large volume of representations from creel and trawl interests in the Loch Torridon area.

  The latest scientific work carried out by Fisheries Research Services indicates that nephrops stocks in the Torridon area are reasonably healthy and a mixed gear fishery appears to be sustainable.

  The Executive has maintained that any change to the existing closures would be best decided by local dialogue and agreement. The two groups have worked up proposals which are broadly acceptable to the Executive and which we consider offer the best opportunity for progress in the area.

  We have therefore decided to implement the following measures to be monitored by Fisheries Research Services subject to review after five years in operation:

  an all-year closure to mobile gear fishing in the area between Red Point, including Loch Torridon, and the south end of the BUTEC Range in the Inner Sound;

  remainder of area to retain existing seasonal closure to mobile gear vessels;

  no multiple gear to be used in existing closure area;

  demersal trawlers fishing the area limited to under 12 metres registered length, and

  Consideration to be given to a creel-free zone in area to enable parallel trials with trawl-free area.

  We will also give further consideration to the case for HIFA to be represented in the Scottish Inshore Fisheries Advisory Group (SIFAG). This would require consultation with SIFAG members.

  We aim to include measures related to the proposed closures in the forthcoming inshore fishing Order. The creel-free measure will be subject to discussion between creel and trawl interests, FRS and the department.

  I hope this will promote better relationships between all fishing interests in the area. I also welcome the additional voluntary measures which creeling interests in Loch Torridon are promoting.

Parliamentary Questions

Nick Johnston (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will give a substantive answer to question S1W-2618 lodged on 17 November 1999.

Sarah Boyack: Question S1W-2618 was answered on 29 September 2000.

Parliamentary Questions

Scott Barrie (Dunfermline West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to respond to the Procedures Committee 1st Report 2000 , Preliminary Report into the Volume of Written Parliamentary Questions and the Scottish Executive’s Speed of Response , and whether it will produce a further audit of parliamentary questions following that produced on 15 February.

Mr Tom McCabe: I have today placed in SPICe copies of the Executive’s response to the Procedures Committee report together with copies of the Executive’s audit of written parliamentary questions asked of the Scottish Executive over the period 1 January to 30 June 2000. In its report, the Procedures Committee recommended that consideration should be given to making the Staff Directory of the Scottish Executive available to MSPs. I have written to the Presiding Officer today to explain that the Executive would be happy to pursue this matter further with the parliamentary authorities. A copy of this letter has also been placed in SPICe.

Port Authorities

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive to whom the Cromarty Firth Port Authority is accountable.

Sarah Boyack: Cromarty Firth Port Authority is an independent statutory trust established under the Cromarty Firth Port Authority Order Confirmation Act 1973. The authority is formally accountable to its trustees as established in the constitution provided for in the 1973 Act.

Public Transport

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the Minister for Transport and the Environment’s statement on transport expenditure on 28 September 2000, whether it will list the 33 major public transport projects referred to ( Official Report , col. 804), specifying in each case the projected cost and completion date.

Sarah Boyack: The table below lists those 33 projects which are currently being supported from the Public Transport Fund, and includes the amount awarded to each authority from the fund and the estimated completion date.

  


Authority


Project


PTF Award
(£ million)


Estimated Completion
Date




Aberdeen 


A96/A956 Bus Priority and Park & 
Ride


£4.000


March 2002




Aberdeen 


Bus Priority and Park and Ride


£3.300


October 2002




Aberdeenshire


Ellon Park & Ride


£0.600


November 2000




Aberdeenshire


Peterhead and Mintlaw Park and Ride


£0.745


Autumn 2001




Argyll & Bute


Port Askaig Harbour Redevelopment


£3.750


April 2003




Clackmannanshire


Alloa Town Centre Transport Interchange


£0.300


March 2001




Dumfries & Galloway


Stranraer Public Transport Interchange


£2.350


Summer 2003




Dumfries & Galloway


Dumfries Transport Initiative


£0.900


Spring 2002




Dundee*


Bus Priority and Real Time Information


£0.475


July 2000




Dundee 


North East Arterial Corridor


£1.325


March 2003




East Ayrshire


Kilmarnock and Cumnock Bus Stations


£0.590


March 2001




East Lothian 


Railway Stations Improvements


£0.312


June 2001




East Lothian (on behalf of South 
East Scotland Transport Partnership)


South East Scotland Travelticket


£0.300


January 2002




East Renfrewshire


Disabled Access to Railway Stations


£0.467


April 2001




Edinburgh


Crossrail


£8.000


September 2001




Edinburgh


A90 Phase 2 Bus Priority


£0.800


March 2001




Eilean Siar


Eriskay Causeway


£4.100


Spring 2001




Falkirk


Bus Station and Bus Priority


£0.345


March 2002




Falkirk


Railway Station Access Programme


£0.350


December 2001




Fife


Inverkeithing Interchange and Airport 
link


£1.020


October 2001




Glasgow


Quality Bus Corridors


£6.600


March 2003




Glasgow/West Dunbartonshire


Bailleston to Faifley Bus Priority


£6.050


May 2002




Highland


Corran Ferry Replacement Vessel


£0.265


March 2001




Midlothian


Sheriffhall Roundabout Cycle Bridge


£0.802


Autumn 2001




North Lanarkshire


Gartcosh Interchange


£1.260


December 2001




Orkney Islands*


North Isles Airfields


£0.323


October 2000




Perth and Kinross


Perth Bus and Cycle Priority


£0.423


March 2001




Renfrewshire


Integrated Transport Improvements


£0.650


March 2002




South Ayrshire


Ayr Bus Priority


£1.850


March 2002




SPTA


Partick Interchange


£3.500


August 2002




SPTA


Improved Rolling Stock


£1.400


March 2002




Stirling


Stirling Bus Priority


£0.447


March 2002




West Lothian*


Forthtrip Express


£0.270


November 1999




  * Project Completed

Rail Network

Mrs Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a contractor has been selected to recommence repair and maintenance work on the Forth Rail Bridge and, if so, when work is expected to start and what contact the Executive and Historic Scotland have had with Railtrack to discuss the future of the bridge.

Sarah Boyack: The appointment of a contractor for the Forth Rail Bridge maintenance and refurbishment programme is a commercial decision for Railtrack and not a matter in which the Scottish Executive has any locus. I understand that the contract for the Forth Rail Bridge works is out to tender and the process is expected to finish mid-November.

  Railtrack meets with Historic Scotland on an annual basis to discuss issues relating to the rail bridge. This year’s meeting is expected to be held soon.

Residential Care

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much additional money will be available to each local authority to pay for publicly funded nursing home places in each of the next three financial years.

Susan Deacon: Within the additional £1.2 billion investment in local government grant over the next three years announced last month, allowance is included for substantial increases in support for councils’ expenditure on community care services. Provisional settlement allocations for individual councils will be announced later this year. The use of resources is largely a matter for local determination as long as it is consistent with legislation and takes account of national policy. We will seek agreement with authorities on the outcomes to be achieved in community care with the additional resources. Guidelines for community care will be issued thereafter.

Transport

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive on what studies its prediction that road traffic is likely to grow by 50% over the next 50 years is based.

Sarah Boyack: In my statement to the Parliament on 28 September regarding the Executive’s transport spending priorities I said that road traffic is likely to grow by more than 50% in the next 30 years.

  This statement is based on the figures contained in Table 2 of the National Road Traffic Forecasts (Great Britain) 1997 produced by the DETR. Copies of the document are available in SPICe.

Transport

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in relation to which current transport projects it is minded to lever in private investment.

Sarah Boyack: There is no set list of projects where the Executive is minded to lever in private investment. Past projects such as the completion of the A74(M)/M74 DBFO project demonstrate how capital infrastructure projects can be brought forward more quickly by use of private finance. Accordingly, we will continue to seek opportunities to work in partnership with the private sector, and to lever in private investment for transport infrastructure and services where this is appropriate and offers value for money.

Transport

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8789 by Sarah Boyack on 28 September 2000, whether any environmental costs of transporting timber from Kielder through the Southern Borders by road as opposed to rail have been considered as part of the assessment of the value of transporting harvested timber by rail; what the reasons are for the inclusion or otherwise of such consideration in this assessment, and whether it would commission a supplementary report to the Scott Wilson study if the price of timber was projected to rise.

Sarah Boyack: The Borders Railway Feasibility Study states that the impact of the railway would be to make it environmentally more acceptable to extract the timber. However, the overriding conclusion of the report remains that under current market conditions a Border railway would be unlikely to improve the competitiveness of Border forests with other sources of timber.

  Timber prices are at an historic low point in real terms because of a combination of events: the strong exchange rate, the impact of recycling, the impact of cheap imports from the Baltic countries and consequential effects of the downturn in the Asian economy.

  The Scottish Executive has no plans to commission a supplementary study to the Scott Wilson study. Any study to explore further potential markets for the Kielder Forest is a matter for the timber industry.

Transport

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive,  further to the Minister for Transport and the Environment’s statement on transport expenditure on 28 September 2000, how it will measure whether improvements in bus services, journey times and reliability are being delivered.

Sarah Boyack: The Transport (Scotland) Bill provides a toolkit of options for local authorities to improve bus services, journey times and reliability. It will be for individual authorities at a local level to measure the effectiveness of the provisions they choose to put in place. The Bill requires local authorities to submit annual reports to the Scottish Executive on the effectiveness of Quality Partnership and Quality Contract schemes. This will enable the Executive to assess the impact of the Bill’s provisions at a national level, and to disseminate best practice guidance.